Heroes and Heroines

John Fairbairn (1794-1864), a journalist and a pioneer for a free press in the Cape of Good Hope Colony. He was born in Roxburghshire, Scotland,...

Tona Gaga (1868-August 1908) was the last king of Walamo, a state in southwest Ethiopia, north of Lake Abaya. He ruled from 1890-94, subsequently being...

George Rayner Ellis (1897-1953) was a prominent editor of one of Johannesburg’s most successful English-language dailies. He was born in London and studied at the...

Alfred Ilg (March 30. 1854-January 7, 1916), a Swiss craftsman, was the principal diplomatic adviser to Emperor Menilek II [reigned 1889-1913]. He was born in...

Téwodros II, or Theodore (circa 1820-April 13, 1868), reigned as emperor from 1866-68. He reunified Ethiopia’s kingdom into a single empire and was the first...

Sarkis Terzian (1868-1915) was an Armenian trader and innovator who assisted Emperor Menilek II [reigned 1889-1913] in importing firearms and other equipment, and in forging links...

Alaga Tayye Gabra-Maryam (1858-August 1924) was an Ethiopian scholar, teacher and writer, as well as an eloquent preacher. Born at Qaroda, in Bagemder, Tayye began...

Taytu Betul (circa 1853-February 11, 1918), empress of Ethiopia, was the wife of Menilek II [reigned 1889-1913]. It was she who gave the name “Addis Ababa”...

Charles Knight (circa 1799-1879) was an Ibo recaptive, who became the first African to be appointed general superintendent of the Wesleyan Methodist Mission in Sierra...

Nur Hussein ibn Ibrahim al Malkai of Balé (now the province of Mendebo in southeast Ethiopia), a sheikh, a Muslim mystic and teacher of the...